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CANNES:
During his keynote at Mipcom today, Zee Group CMD Subhash
Chandra asserted that India had the potential to become the
largest pay television market in the world.
However,
Chandra remained steadfast that while newer distribution avenues
would eat into the dominant share that cable enjoyed in Indian
television households, that was not to imply that platforms
like direct-to-home (DTH) would take over.
Chandra
made the point during his interaction with Chris Forrester,
Rapid TV News Editorial Director, who asked: "Do you
see this threat (to television viewing) that today's youngsters
will remain on a gaming, animation, or maybe mobile path?"
Chandra
dismissed the notion as being higher on hyperbole than fact.
"I don't see that day. When we started television everybody
in the film industry said this is going to kill the industry.
It didn't. It actually enhanced the film experience.
"Today
in India, more than 70 films are screened per day and available
to 70 million homes but still people watch cinema. Similar
things will happen. All these newer avenues (for content to
flow) will consume more and more media as they are made avilable
at cheaper prices. As the newer applications come, they will
all complement each other. Today we are showing gaming on
the DTH platform."
Queried
over whether going forward, he saw DTH becoming the primary
feed into TV homes, Chandra responded: "It will not become
the primary feed because regulation will not allow it, which
is a good thing. But I do agree that other delivery platforms
will take 40-50 per cent of the distribution market over next
five-seven years."
On
the issue of there being only one dominant or at the most
two competing DTH platforms in other television markets, Chandra
said: "India is a country of surprises. We will still
be able to see two or three DTH platforms operating. Not five
or six as is the case now though. So in that sense we will
see consolidation."
On
regulation, Chandra was quite clear that India needed it if
the industry was to be able to grow in an orderly fashion.
Said Chandra, "There should be regulation. Actually there
is no regulation in India today. Only some guidelines on FDI
caps and this kind of thing, nothing else."
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